Tableware tray and insert



April 20, 1954 T. w. FOSTER TABLEWARE TRAY AND INSERT Filed Aug. 19, 1949 I fnuenior' I Tkomad Z0. f'OSier' Patented A r. 20, 1954 2,675,912 TABLEWARE TRAY AND INSERT Thomas W. Foster, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application August 19, 1949, Serial No. 111,295

3 Claims.

Th present invention relates to tableware holding trays, and more particularly to a tray andinsert construction for retaining individual articles of tableware such as forks, spoons and knives in a tray or similar container, such construction being formed of paperboard or similar foldable material.

The construction includes an insert element made of a suitable sheet of paperboard which is formed to provide in the tray a plurality of raised portions which are slotted to accommodate the handle portions of tableware articles and certain parts of the raised portions are formed with slits to receive the blades of table knives, the edges of the slots having an undulatory shape to provide uniformly spaced, inwardly extending portions and depressed portions on each of the slot edges whereby the individual handle portions of forks and spoons will be snugly received in the depressed portions and between the extended portions. The slots in the various parts of the raised portions of the insert are preferably of progressively varying widths lengthwise of the insert whereby such slots will accommodate the flat, tapered handles of forks and spoons. The slits to receive the knife blades are preferably of undulatory shape whereby the knife blade is adapted to be tightly gripped within the slit.

Among the objects of the invention are to provide a relatively inexpensive container and insert construction which is adapted to hold a plurality of tableware articles securely in place during shipment and handling; which presents the articles to a prospective purchaser in an attractive to add any appreciable amount to the sales price of the contents and which is still strong enough to 7 allow the tray to serve as a multi-use container for storage of the articles; which is designed to hold the handles of the articles closely adjacent each other and at the same time substantially reduce the tendency of the handles to rub against each other due to any vibrations that may set up during transit which would be detrimental to the finish of the tableware articles in the event they were held so as to rub against each other; which provides simple means for securing the insert in the tray; the parts of which may be easily and quickly assembled; and to provide blanks for the construction which are readily erectable to the desired form and conveniently assembled.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following description and will be pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of a tray with certain parts broken away and illustrating an insert therein and indicating in dotted lines several articles of tableware held in place Within slots in raised portions on the insert;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view in section, taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the blank from which the insert is formed; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, illustrating the association of the handles of the tableware articles with the undulatory edges of the slots.

Referring toFig. 1, the present invention, as herein illustrated, comprises an outer tray, indicated generally at 5, and an insert element, indicated generally at 5, the insert preferably being of such length as to fit snugly within the tray and substantially cover the bottom.

The tray 5 is of conventional form comprising a bottom panel 1, side walls 8, and end walls 9, each of which have inwardly foldable wall portions indicated at Ba and 9a. The infolded portions 8a are preferably secured, as by means of adhesive, to the inside surfaces of the side walls 8 and the lower edges of the infolded portions to are spaced somewhat from the bottom panel of the tray.

The insert 5 is preferably formed from a single blank of foldable paperboard illustrated in Fig. 3 This blank is suitably formed with crease lines indicated at it, i I, I2 and 3 to provide upwardly extending saddle members M and 15 which are substantially of inverted V-shape in cross section. To provide for ready bending of the material of the saddle portions additional crease lines i F5 and l! are impressed in the blank midway between the respective pairs of crease lines H! and H and crease lines l2 and I3.

To facilitate bending along crease line H], H, l2 and it, particularly when the insert is formed from relatively stiii paperboard, there are preferably formed along these crease lines a plurality of weakened portions lilo, Ila, 12a and Eta which are formed by making a plurality of short, spaced knif cuts through the paperboard.

For the purpose of effective retention of a plurality of tableware articles such as spoons and forks, the saddle members are formed with aligned slots as indicated at 26, 2| and 22 in the.

saddle member l4 and slots 23, Hand 25 in the saddle member 15. Th opposite edges of each of the slots are formed of undulatory shape thereby to provide uniformly spaced, inwardly extended portions 21 and depressed portions 28. The respective extended and depressed portions on each edge of the slots are preferably symmetrically disposed with respect to each other. The distance between the bottoms of the troughs of the opposite depressed portions is substantially the same as the width of the flat handle portion of the fork or spoon at the points of engagement between the handle and the slot. The various slots at, 2| and 22 as well as the slots 23, 2t and 25 are slightly narrower at one end than at the other, whereby, when the board is folded into saddle shape there will, in effect, be provided pairs of slots, one slot being on each slope of the saddle and the effective width of the slots on one side of the saddle will be greater than those on the one side, thus accommodating the tapered shape of the fiat handle sections of tableware articles. The slots 20, 2| and 22 are intended to accommodate the narrowest portions of the handles of forks and spoons and the slots 23, 2A and 25 are designed to accommodate the wider portions of the forks and spoons near the outer ends of their handles.

Slots 2t, 2i and 22 are made longer than their aligned slots 23, 24 and 25 for the purpose of accommodating the downward curve in the handl of forks and spoons which occurs at the inher ends of the handles in conventionally shaped forks and spoons. For this purpose the ends of the slots 20, 2i and 22 are extended to terminate closer to the crease line Ill than to the crease line H.

When it is desired to assemble forks and spoons on the insert 6 it is only necessary to place the fork or spoon in the slot and press downward which will move the handle of the implement past the extended portions of the undulatory slot edges and allow the handle of the implement to come to rest within the appropriate set of opposed depressed pcrtions whereby the handle of the tableware article will be firmly embraced at four places along such handle. Upon engaging additional handles of tableware articles in the slots each succeeding handle will come to rest in opposed depressed portions just above the previously inserted handle and this is continued until the desired number of tableware articles has been engaged within the slots.

Due to the fact that the slots 2B, 2! and 22 extend to points closer to the crease line H than the opposite ends extend with respect to the crease line H, the more sharply curved handle portions near the inner end of the handle are adequately accommodated and the main portions of the handles are disposed to lie in a plane approximately parallel to the bottom of the insert. The respective tine ends of the forks and bowl ends of the spoons will lie relatively close to the surface of the adjacent portion of the insert. As the handles of each of the tableware articles will be snugly engaged at eight separated points (four on each side) the tendency of the handles of the individual articles to move with respect to each other is greatly minimized, thus reducing or! avoiding the tendency of the adjacent surfaces to become marred or dulled during transit even though the form of transportation used should be one in which considerable vibration occurs.

For the purpose .of accommodating the handles and blade portions of table knives the saddle member M is preferably formed with a plurality of blade-engaging slits 3i 3i and the saddle portion i is formed with a plurality of handleengaging slots 32. 342 aligned with the respective slits. The slits 3! 3! are preferably of undulatory shape whereby, when the blade of a knife is forced into a slit 3|, there will be produced a deformation of the opposite edges of the slit which will cause the knife blade to be gripped with considerable force. Each of the handle-engaging slots is preferably formed with undulatory edges whereby when the handle of a knife is inserted into such slots thecrests of the extended portions will be somewhat deformed and thereby exert considerable gripping force upon the handles. The width of the slots from the trough of the depressed portions on one side to the trough of the depressed portions on the other side is made substantially equal to the width of the handle of the knife whereby in order for the slot to receive the handle it is necessary for the extended portions of the undulatory edges to be deformed.

For th purpose of retaining the insert within the tray the insert is preferably formed with outwardly extending rigid tabs 34, 34 which will allow the insert to be moved downwardly into contact with the bottom of the tray which are Of sufficient length to become engaged beneath the lower edges of the inturned side wall members ta, to. See Fig. 1.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the present invention provides an insert for a tableware tray which is provided with raised saddle =mbers formed with slots to receive the flat tapered handles of forks and spoons and cause the edges of the handles of each article to be gripped snugly at a plurality of separate points whereby the forks and spoons will be retained firmly against movement with respect to the tray and against movement with respect to sup-er posed forks and spoons. The provision of tapered slots in the saddle members of the insert accommodate th tapered form of fiat handles of tableware ar icles in such manner that the handles will be snugly and uniformly gripped on each of the sides of each saddle member.

The present invention also provides means for effectively retaining the handles and blades 0. table knives so that the knives are held a ain t movement with respect to the insert even tl subjected to considerable vibration in Due to the outwardly extending rigid tabs on insert, such insert will be held firml place wit in the tray and will prevent accidental dis placement of such trays even though the tray is inverted.

While the present description sets forth a preferred embodiment of tile invention, certs, .1 changes may be made in the construction w 11- out departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is therefore desired that present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not descriptive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of invention.

I claim:

1. An insert for a tableware he .1 prising a sheet of foldable pap. spaced parallel crease lines the ein to provide an upwardly extended saddle po of inverted V-shape, the saddle portion formed with a slot extending through each side of its upper edge and having a 1 sufficient to receive the fiat tapered handle tions of articles of tableware, the slot bein pered so that the width thereof on one side the saddle portion is greater than that on the other side, the opposite edges of the slot being of undulating shape and extending on each side of the ridge of the saddle forming opposed pairs of inwardly extending projections and intermediate pairs of depressions symmetrically disposed with reference to each other and adapted to retain the edges of tapered, flat handle portions of a plurality of articles of tableware with the handle portion of each article spaced from the handle portion of the adjacent article by two pairs of opposed projections, one pair of projec tions being on one side of the ridge of the saddle and the other pair being on the other side of said ridge.

2. A tableware holding and display device comprising a tray, an insert for said tray comprising a sheet of foldable paperboard, and coacting means on the tray and insert respectively for holding the insert within the tray, said paperboard insert having spaced parallel crease lines therein folded so as to provide an upwardly extended saddle portion of inverted V-shape, the saddle portion being formed with a slot extending through and on each side of its ridge and having a width sufficient to receive th fiat tapered handle portions of articles of tableware, the slot being tapered so that the width thereof on one side of the saddle portion is greater than that on the other side, the opposite edges of the slot being of undulating shape and extending on each side of the ridge of the saddle forming opposed pairs of inwardly extending projections and intermediate opposed pairs of depressions symmetrically disposed with reference to each other and adapted to retain the edges of tapered, flat handle portions of a plurality of articles of tableware with the handle portion of each article spaced from the handle portion of the adjacent article by two opposed pairs of projections, one pair of projections being on one side of the ridge of the saddle and the other pair being on the other side of said ridge.

3. A tableware holding and display device comprising a tray, an insert for said tray comprising a sheet oi. ioldable paperboard, and coacting means on the tray and insert respectively for holding the insert within the tray, said paperboard insert having spaced parallel crease lines therein folded so as to provide an upwardly extended saddle portion of inverted V-shape, the saddle portion being formed with a slot extending through and on each side of its ridge and having a width suificient to receive the flat tapered handle portions of articles of tableware, the slot being tapered so that the width thereof on one side of the saddle portion is greater than that on the other side, the opposite edges of the slot being of undulating shape and extending on each side of the ridge of the saddle forming opposed pairs of inwardly extending projections and intermediate opposed pairs of depressions symmetrically disposed with reference to each other, and a plurality of articles of tableware having tapered fiat handle portions supported by said insert in spaced superposed position, with the handle portion of each article spaced from the handle portion of the adjacent article by two opposed pairs of projections, one pair being on one side of the ridge of the saddle, and the other pair being on the other side of said ridge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D.110,200 Sunderhauf June 21, 1938 D. 157,260 Hull et al. Feb. 14, 1950 615,702 Hills Dec. 13, 1898 2,030,996 Lustig Feb. 18, 1936 2,054,355 Anderson Sept. 15, 1936 2,253,008 Anderson Aug. 19, 1941 2,303,264 Flick Nov. 24, 1942 2,306,782 Gingras Dec. 29, 1942 2,421,782 Gibbs et al June 10, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 126,099 Switzerland June 1, 1928 283,896 Italy Mar. 26, 1931 7 722,114 France Dec. 28, 1931 

